Ecuador
The Galapagos Islands and Ecuador are home to incredible wildlife, such as the famous
Galapagos Turtle and the lesser known, but more common Red Rock or Sally Lightfoot
crab (pictured). Begin Your Journey!

Chile
The Andes dominate much of Chile, including the breath-taking Torres del Paine National
Park (pictured). However, the country also hosts the world's driest desert and
a thriving metropolis. Begin Your Journey!

Bolivia
This hidden gem is full of surprises, from the impressive salt flats (pictured)
to the migrating flamingos. It also clings to the most historic indigenous culture
on the continent. Explore Bolivia!

Culture & Identity of Chile

Introduction

Chile is a country of "many"; many cultures, many
classes, many roots, and many ways of life. The mountains in the country physically
divide the people, allowing each group to create a new sub-culture and lifestyle.
On one extreme are the Mapuche people, who live much as they have for hundreds of
years as they cling to the land and what it can offer. On the other extreme are
the country's economic elite, who tend to be ethnically European and live a
lifestyle that reflects this heritage, often on the outskirts of Santiago. Even
with the technology and transportation accessible today, Chile seems to be a country
whose mountains isolated, created, or maintained the culture of every individual
city, town, or village. Despite this diversity, many Chileans see their country
as one that is rather homogenous ethnically and culturally.

Nearly everyone in Chile lives in a city or the suburbs today,
but city expansion is often limited by the mountains. These mountains also limit
where people can live as some valleys are more livable than others and farming can
only be undertaken in certain regions. This has led to massive urbanization among
the people, but each city seems divided from the next and many people still live
in rural areas, most notably the Mapuche, who tend to live off the land in the southern
part of Chile.

Most Chileans begin the day with breakfast then many of the urbanites begin their
work or school day with public transportation as most workplaces and shops open
at about 8:30 or 9:00 am. Schools also begin at about this time and the Chileans
view education as being very important so this well-educated country is slowly becoming
even better educated. Those in more rural areas may ride a bike to work or walk
as cars are expensive. This education and work tend to pay off as
Chile is one of the wealthiest countries in South America.

Once the family returns home for the evening or the weekend, the essence of
Chile's culture is exposed. Families are very closely knit as mothers
guarantee their sons are looked after until they're married and their daughters
are taught to take over their role as they seek out a husband. Children often live
with their parents until they marry and most social occasions are done together
as a family; if dating or socializing with peers is done these friends may join
the family for the day. This seems to be the greatest similarity across the ethnic
Europeans in Chile, this emphasis on family and caring for one's children. Jobs,
forms of entertainment, and many other aspects of culture seem to vary from town
to town as fine arts are only found in some places and sports tend to dominate some
sub-cultures.

Although much of Chile's population has a culture rooted
in Europe, the Mapuche maintain a culture rooted in historic
Chile and the Andes Mountains. The culture differs from town to town due to geographic
variations, access to different forms of entertainment, accessibility to various
jobs, and personal interest among others.

Identity

Most of the people of Chile are ethnically European, or at
least partially European, but there are also numerous indigenous groups of people
in Chile, most notably the Mapuche. Most indigenous people identify with their ethnic
or linguistic group first and perhaps as a Chilean second or even third. For the
ethnically European population, most people see themselves as being "Chilean"
or "Chilenidad."

Most of the people who are ethnic European see themselves as "Chilean,"
which they define in numerous ways, including by ethnic make-up, language, citizenships,
food, clothing, and other aspects of culture and lifestyle. However, the most important
means of defining this term is generally not citizenship so many indigenous people
who are citizens of Chile are excluded from this definition.
One of the most important factors to be "Chilean" is to be ethnically
European and to have a lifestyle that closer reflects Europe
than it does the indigenous people. In this way most citizens of Chile either identify
as being "Chilean," which is defined in cultural and ethnic terms. or
they identify with their indigenous group, which is often defined in linguistic
or ethnic terms, such as the Mapuche.

No matter how an individual identifies, few "Chileans" are 100% European
as many have indigenous blood in them; in this way the definition of this identity
has a great deal of interpretation involved as almost anyone can be included as
being "Chilean" so long as they believe they are Chilean and adopt the
language, customs, and culture of the country's majority. On the other hand,
it is impossible to become a "Mapuche" if you are not culturally and linguistically
Mapuche.